In the pipeline
2012
It took Derek Lowe a while to find his motivation
How long is 'too long' in the drug discovery game? Derek Lowe considers the effects of life in the lab
Drug discovery requires experimentation, says Derek Lowe. But chemists can be reluctant to stray from the elements they know and love
Derek Lowe wonders what the lab lingua franca might be in the years to come
Derek Lowe discusses how companies are increasingly trying to do more with the compounds they already know a lot about
2011
Derek Lowes considers the perfect lab environment
Derek Lowe discusses the compounds you can buy but won't see anywhere in the literature
You have to make space for good sense when thinking about safety, argues Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe considers an increasingly popular business strategy in the drug industry, the much discussed 'pay for delay' deal
Derek Lowe highlights the less visible pitfalls on the road to a new drug
The financial markets can be a rollercoaster ride, writes Derek Lowe, so should chemists working in industry worry about the company share price?
To the unfamiliar, chemists might all look the same. But some common categories are easy to identify, explains Derek Lowe
The map of scientific disciplines is growing ever more complex. Derek Lowe surveys the country
'Natural products are back!' is a headline Derek Lowe has seen several times before
Drug discovery is an inherently risky business. Derek Lowe tries to balance some of the risk equations
Enzymes have been giving chemists inferiority complexes since day one, says Derek Lowe. But there's no denying their potential
Some medicinal chemists can't get enough fluorines in their molecules. Derek Lowe explains the love-hate relationship
2010
Who's that asleep at the back? Don't be too quick to blame yourself when tedious talks and soporific seminars fail to inspire, says Derek Lowe
Should companies focus on big markets and the blockbuster dream? The more modern approaches are not without risks, says Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe investigates the comeback combinatorial chemistry has made in the field of drug discovery
Derek Lowe considers the quandaries of living in the age of the kinase
Derek Lowe reminisces about lost laboratory techniques and wonders which will be next to go
Derek Lowe ponders the possibility of phosphatase inhibitors
Derek Lowe looks into his crystal ball to see what the future of medicinal chemistry might be
Derek Lowe wonders whether tagging molecules with fluorescent labels for assay is like tracking the members of a shoal of fish by tying each one to a whale
Derek Lowe waxes lyrical about the joys of the electronic lab notebook
Derek Lowe takes a tour of the 'instrument graveyard'
Derek Lowe wonders whether peer-reviewed papers or patents are more reliable
Derek Lowe takes a look back over his 20 years as a medicinal chemist
2009
Is the pharmaceutical industry churning out copycat versions of existing therapies? Derek Lowe dispels a few myths about 'me-too' drugs
Derek Lowe advises opening your mind during the screening cascade taken by potential drug targets, and remaining goal orientated at all times
Derek Lowe discusses the problem of leaning too heavily on favourite reactions
Derek Lowe wonders why some diseases are easier to drug than others
Derek Lowe considers what makes a good looking drug molecule - and how beauty is in the eye of the beholder
Derek Lowe wonders where we'd be without the formulation chemists
Derek Lowe wonders about pharmaceutical companies' motives for collaboration
Derek Lowe considers what we think we know about how drugs work once we've taken them
Derek Lowe considers the problems of addressing drug development out of sequence
Derek Lowe worries that mergers are upsetting the balance of the pharmaceutical ecosystem
How important is it to have the best equipped lab, wonders Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe discusses the age-old tradition of passing the buck
2008
Derek Lowe ponders the likelihood of arriving where he started
Testing times for Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe seeks a cure for 'compound bloat'
Derek Lowe remembers leaving the ivory towers of academe to trade 'unusual and beautiful' for 'useful'
Derek Lowe is looking for a little more variety among his reactions
Derek Lowe says this is no time to be an 'ordinary' scientist
Derek Lowe dreams of the day when chemists and biologists can understand each other
Derek Lowe wonders what lessons we can learn from the Vytorin fiasco
The recent row over antidepressants reminds us how little we know about the brain, says Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe wonders how to revive some lost techniques
It's been a rough year, but the future looks bright, says Derek Lowe
2007
Derek Lowe squares up to the challenge of biologics
Chemists are finally going with the flow, says Derek Lowe
The high cost of energy has an unexpected benefit, says Derek Lowe - it forces us to be more efficient
Will Phase Zero trials actually help drug development, wonders Derek Lowe
Process chemists just don't get the credit they deserve, says Derek Lowe
The Avandia controversy poses some tough questions about how to balance risks, says Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe sets the record straight about pharmaceutical patents on traditional medicines
After months of bleak news about faltering pipelines and redundancies, it's time to find reasons to be cheerful about the drug industry, says Derek Lowe.
Derek Lowe wonders whether total synthesis is still worth the effort
Do the benefits of pharmaceutical company mergers really outweigh the costs, asks Derek Lowe
Derek Lowe wonders whether the secret recipe for scientific breakthroughs can be taught - and how much indigestion that recipe would cause in the boardroom
Derek Lowe looks at the recent failure of Pfizer's cholesterol drug, torcetrapib, and asks what it means for the future of pharmaceutical research
2006
Derek Lowe looks at the story behind the growing investment by western companies in medicinal chemistry research in China
Derek Lowe wonders how to kill off bad drug candidates before companies invest valuable time and money in them
